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GuideNov 202514 min read

Web Security Essentials

A checklist of critical security practices for web developers, including CORS, CSP, and preventing XSS/CSRF.

Web Security Essentials

Don't let your application be the next data breach headline. Always implement these basics:

  1. Content Security Policy (CSP): Restrict the sources from which scripts and resources can be loaded to prevent XSS attacks.
  2. Sanitize Inputs: Never trust user input. Use libraries like DOMPurify if you must render HTML.
  3. CORS Configuration: Don't use * for CORS in production. Specify exact origins.
  4. CSRF Protection: Use anti-CSRF tokens for state-changing requests, and set cookies to SameSite=Strict or Lax.
  5. Secure Headers: Use tools like Helmet (Node.js) to automatically set security headers like X-Frame-Options and Strict-Transport-Security.
Web Security Essentials